L.A. Archdiocese Catholic schools are planning to return to class. Dr. Anselmo Villanueva, the principal for Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, joined ABC7 via Skype to talk about what his school is planning to do this fall.
What will be different this fall at your school and will there be any online classes?
"Doors will be open, students will be coming, teachers will be in the classroom - what will be different though is we're going to hold a minimum class size, excuse me a maximum class size of between 12 and 15 students, and we will practice all of the guidelines that the CDC, the Archdiocese, Ventura County Health Department will have in place by then," said Villanueva. "We will be prepared with masks, gloves, face shields, sanitizing, hand washing - those kinds of things. And the latest tool that I hope to be getting are these lanyards with a device on them that have sort of a signal that go off, as well as a light that comes on when students or staff are within, you know, close proximity. So it will be an indicator, especially for the younger students, that they are physically too close."
Have you received any feedback from families who may not be comfortable sending their children to school?
"Quite the opposite, we as a staff, as well as I met with some parents talking about what should we do," said Villanueva. "And everyone felt comfortable that we should open."
Villanueva says there are a handful of families that are not comfortable returning, so they will provide alternative education for them. Other than this, Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard plans to open daily, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., come the start of the school year.
What about before and after school activities?
"We're waiting to hear from the city of Oxnard and other leagues what they're planning to do. I'm guessing, at least based on current information, that those will not happen," said Villanueva. "We will also continue with our before school and after school childcare."
Watch the full interview in the video above
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